Thumb guard



Feb. 27, 1951 R. BIIQODY 2,543,521

THUMB GUARD Filed Jan. 5, 1950 Fig. 3.

INVENTOR.

Rubie Brody "MM/my Patented Feb. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES iii'i OFFICE 1 Claim. (C1. 2-21) The present invention relates to improvements in finger protecting means and, more specifically, to a new and improved thumb guard adapted for being worn on the front portion of a persons thumb while cutting or dicing vegetables or the like.

One object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described which most effectively will protect a persons thumb, preventing any cuts or other injuries while a person is handling a knife or is carrying out any other manipulations which may cause injuries to the thumb. With the danger of injuries eliminated, my new and improved thumb guard will make it possible to increase the speed and eiiiciency of workers wearing this device.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described which facilitates the exchanging of parts that are usually subjected to wear and tear, so that, for instance, a. plate of the device which is exposed to the cutting edge of the knife can be exchanged, or an elastic ribbon. by means of which the de vice is attached to a persons thumb can be exchanged if it has been stretched, torn, or the like Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described which can be used instead of the customary cutting board, thus eliminating in many cases the necessity for such a board, and which is light in weight and small in size, so that it can be stored and shipped at a very low expense and in a very small space respectively.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a clevice'of the character described which is simple in construction, so that it can be manufactured and sold at a very reasonable price, but which is also sturdy, handy, durable, and well adapted for withstanding the rough usage to which devices of this type frequently are subjected.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing a preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of my invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing the numeral 2 denotes a substantially fiat head member to which are secured the ends of an elastic ring band member 4. The member 2 preferably is of any suitable hard material, such as aluminum, plastic material, or the like, whose inner side is grooved and adapted for partially encompassing the front portion of a persons thumb while that outer side of the head member which is opposite said grooved inner side is provided with a pair of dove-tail-shaped edge portions 6 (Figures 2 and 3). A plate 8 of wood or of any other suitable material is secured to the member 2. The plate 8 can be secured permanently to the member 2, or it can be made as a unit therewith if it consists of plastic material, hard wood, or the like. Also the ribbon 4 can be secured permanently to the member 2.

The device is worn preferably on the inner side of the front portion of the thumb [9 (Figure 1) with the ribbon i covering a portion of the thumb nail l2. Thus a knife or the like will hit the plate 8, and an operator wearing the device does not have to be afraid of cutting his thumb. Since the plate 8 will come into a more or less violent contact with the knife (not shown) or the like from time to time, the plate 8 will last only for a limited period of time. For this reason, and also because the ribbon 4 may become worn, stretched out, or torn, I prefer to make the parts 4 and 8 exchangeable. Moreover, I have constructed the device in such a manner that the parts 4 and 8 can be exchanged quickly and easily without the use of any tools and without the application of any considerable amount of skill. I prefer to carry out this feature of my invention in the manner shown in the drawing where it will be seen that the plate 8 has a pair of dove-tail-shaped edge portions adapted for engaging the dove-tail-shaped edge portions of said head member 2. The latter has in its center a transverse groove I4, which is rightangularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of said groove inner side, and the numeral l5 denotes passages extended from the ends of said transverse groove through said head member and terminating at the edge portions of the grooved inner side of said head member 2; The end portions of the elastic band or ribbon l are extended through the passages it into said transverse groove, and a curved resilient blade 18 of steel or the like 3 within the transverse groove being interposed between said plate and the end portions of said elastic band, exerts pressure upon the end portions of the ribbon 4 and keeps the same in place due to friction.

Thus for removing the parts 4 and 8, the plate 8 is slid out of the grooved edge portions 6, and the ribbon or band 4 is pulled out of the passages 16. Thereupon a new band or ribbon 4 is inserted through the passages H3, its ends are placed fiat into the groove i4, the blade 18 is placed upon the ends of the ribbon or band 4 and is pressed firmly into the groove M, and a new plate 8 is lid into the grooved edge portions 6 and over the blade (3. Since the blade 18 has a tendency to curl, its center will press against the plate 8 while its ends will press upon the band or ribbon 4, so that the latter no longer can be pulled out of the passages l5.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could. be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claim is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent in the United States is:

A device of the character described comprising a flat head member Whose inner side is grooved and adapted for partially encompassing the front portion of a persons thumb while that outer side of the head member which is opposite said grooved inner side is provided with a pair of dove-tail-shaped edge portions and has in its center portion a transverse groove which is rightangularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of said grooved inner side, passages extending from i REFERENCES CETED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,259,388 Mell Oct. 17, 1941 2,461,970 Finegan Feb. 15, 1949 2,487,101 Colby et a1 Nov. 8, 1949 

